President Jair Bolsonaro and the former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva exchanged this Sunday, August 28, accusations face to face, in the first television debate heading to the October elections in Brazilthe most polarized in decades.
It is the first time that the two arch-rivals, central figures in the recent history of Brazil, are measured face to face.
“His government was the most corrupt in the history of Brazil“, launched the far-right Bolsonaro, 67, in his first speech, addressed to the leader of the left, favorite in the polls. Minutes before the debate, the president had branded Lula a “thief”.
Lula, 76 years old, retorted defending the social advances of his governments (2003-2010) and saying that the current president “is destroying” the country.
Both candidates, dressed in dark suits, white shirts and ties, accused each other of lyingbut the tension was especially palpable in the next room, where journalists and politicians followed the debate on a screen.
Lula-Bolsonaro: a very aggressive campaign is coming
Spicy debate and almost close to pineapples
There was recorded a beginning of tumult during a discussion between deputy André Janones, an ally of Lula, and Bolsonaro’s former Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, who were about to hit each other.
Organized by a group of Brazilian media, including Rede Bandeirantes and the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, the debate is the first on the campaign calendar with a view to the October 2 elections.
In the first part of the debate, which lasted a total of three hours, Lula focused his speech on defending the environment and the Amazon, while Bolsonaro was criticized by the other candidates for the increase in deforestation during his term, the progress of inflation and famine.
In one of the most tense moments, the president attacked the journalist Vera Magalhaes for stating in a question that the president spread disinformation about anticovid vaccines.
“Vera, you sleep thinking about me, you have some kind of crush…you can’t take sides in a debate like this and make lying accusations about me. You are an embarrassment to Brazilian journalism,” the president said.
misogynist treatise later by the senator candidate Simone Tebet, Bolsonaro rejected the criticism and said that it is a “cheap speech”.
The presidential debate in Brazil
Like Lula, Bolsonaro waited until the last moment to confirm his participation.
Initially, the organizers reported that by lottery Lula and Bolsonaro would be located side by side, but this was changed at the last minute.
Eleonora Gosman: “In the second round, Lula clearly beats Bolsonaro”
When questioned by journalists, before the debate, about the reason for the change, Bolsonaro said that he had no problem appearing by his side, but that “I wouldn’t shake hands with a thief“, he said, referring to the corruption scandals that dotted Lula’s mandates.
Lula was imprisoned between April 2018 and November 2019 after being convicted of corruption. In 2021, the justice annulled his convictions, considering that the court that had tried him in the first instance was incompetent. The former president defended that his innocence had been proven, but all the candidates repeatedly accused him of “corruption.”
“Lula was shy and even made mistakes on some points. He was not as sharp as at other times,” political analyst André Cesar, from the Hold consultancy, told AFP. “Bolsonaro was looser, releasing his phrases, laughing. In that sense Bolsonaro won 1-0″estimated.
In addition to Lula and Bolsonaro, the meeting brings together four other candidates: former Finance Minister Ciro Gomes (PDT, center-left), third in the polls (7%); Senator Simone Tebet (MDB, center) in fourth place; Senator Soraya Thronicke (União Brasil) and Felipe D’Avila, both below 1% of voting intentions.
For security reasons, there were no spectators in the studio.
Lula ahead in the polls on Bolsonaro
Lula, who governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010, leads the race with 47% of the intention to vote against 32% for Bolsonaro, according to a Datafolha Institute survey published on August 18. Other polls also place Lula in the lead, although with a smaller advantage.
In 2018, when he won the elections, Bolsonaro participated only in the first two presidential debates. With a month to go before the first round, was stabbed during a campaign rally and after undergoing surgery, he did not debate again.
Neither Lula nor former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB, center) participated in debates before the first round when they sought re-election in 2006 and 1998, respectively.
ED
You may also like